Secondreef
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2002
- Posts
- 3
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Ok, this is my first post so be patient with me. I owe a lot to this forum because you saved me from buying the Bose noise canceling headphones and opened a world of great products up to me. This is my feeble attempt to begin repaying you for that great advice. I find myself on a plane nearly every week going or coming from somewhere and needed some good noise isolating cans. After just a few visits to this forum I knew I needed a pair of Etys. Settled on the 4S. Then I needed a traveling amp. Bought a new Total Airhead (TA) and a Porta Corda. Now it’s time to decide between the two.
I listen to a variety of music – classic rock, alternative, punk, cool jazz, big band, classical (big symphony sound), piano, reggae. Sometimes the recording quality isn’t very good. I like a good, smooth, balanced sound. I like my bass to be deep and controlled. I’ve listened to both amps for many hours on many CDs played on the Sony D-25S. I can make this general comment – a good recording makes a huge difference, and makes the amps sound more alike. Poor recordings exaggerate the flaws in the amps.
A word about the Etys. If you don’t think the 4S’s have bass, think again. These things have the cleanest, deepest bass I have ever heard. It’s not booming, and it’s a different feeling with the Etys, but it’s very deep and clean. Etys do expose all the recording flaws (and there are many!) making some good music hard to listen too. They also expose the compression artifacts on CD WAVE files. The 4S’s are easier to drive than I expected, and I’m glad I chose them (haven’t heard the 4P’s though).
Here’s what I listened too (mostly):
Steely Dan, Aja (MCA)
UB40, UB40 (Virgin)
Sony Stitt, Stitt Plays Bird (Atlantic)
St. Louis Symphony, Tchaikovsky Serenade in C for Strings (Telarc)
The B52s, B52s (Warner Bros)
Fiona Apple, Tidal (Sony)
What my eyes saw:
The coolness factor definitely goes to the PC. It looks more like quality sound equipment with the blue aluminum faceplate, red LED, toggle switch and volume knob. The TA makes some scary pops and crackles when you switch the switches or plug in the headphones (even with the power off). The separate power switch on the TA is a nice feature (you can turn it off without changing the volume), but it’s difficult to see and the TA lacks a LED. I left mine on a couple times by mistake. The PC is a little crowded with everything on the front panel. I like the location of the input jack on the side of the TA, and the volume thumbwheel is easier to use than the knob on the PC. I found the interconnect cable on the PC is nearly useless because it’s too short, too stiff, too thick and only has a 90 degree connector on one end. The TA’s interconnect is just right (and matches the cable on my Etys!). The TA also has a convenient power connector on the side for a regulated power supply (4.5VDC, center +). I always have a stack of AA batteries lying around to power the TA, but the 9V is a little harder to come by in my house (and more expensive).
What my ears heard:
Both amps were very quiet (except for the pops mentioned above that the TA made). Both powered the Etys well at low volume settings. They sounded quite different, but neither was objectionable. I listened to both with the crossfeed on because I thought the sound was very un-natural with it turned off. Out of the box the PC lacked bass with the crossfeed on. There was a huge difference when the crossfeed was turned off (more bass, but had a distinct right/left sound). I changed the PC’s magic resistor (to a 1000 ohm) to reduce the crossfeed. That gave me more bass without negative effects.
With that fixed, there are several differences between the amps that I’ll mention in order of my perceived magnitude. First, the PC had a very controlled bass, but slightly lacking. The TA had just a tad too much bass, but more importantly, it was a little more sloppy, not as controlled. It was most noticeable on Fiona Apple’s Sleep to Dream (first cut) where there’s too much bass and the TA exaggerates this. The PC handled it much better making it less objectionable. However, if the recording is light on bass, it’s nearly non-existent with the PC while the TA makes it sound much better. I used the St. Louis Symphony CD as my gold standard, and the TA reproduced the lows very accurately. The sound was well balanced, controlled and very deep. The PC was a little thin. I had to strain a bit to hear the bass line. If the TA throttled back the bass just a tad, it would be great.
The next noticeable difference is the soundstage. To my ears the TA had a much more realistic, seamless sound. The TA sounded like musicians on a stage, all blending, but with distinct locations. The PC sounded like each musician was individually recorded in a studio and mixed later. The individual sounds didn’t blend into a seamless curtain of music, but was more of distinct points of sound with less airy space around them. Even the St. Louis Symphony sounded like it was recorded in a studio thru the PC. To me this made the PC more fatiguing to listen to, and resulted in fewer shivers running up and down my spine. I got lost in the music more with the TA and listened less to the amp. The TA apparently has a slight delay in the crossfeed circuit. Could this explain why it has a more airy sound to its soundstage???
The final noticeable difference is the highs. The PC really shines in the mids to highs. Cymbal crashes are incredible thru the PC. The TA just doesn’t reproduce them with the same life and energy. The PC, however, did seem to have a little more bite (edge) to trumpets and snare drums, where the TA was smoother and more laid back.
I really want to keep the PC. It looks so cool, and does a good job in a lot of ways. I just think the TA is a better match with the Etys. I tried running in the PC for 48 hours, and really couldn’t hear the difference. I tried the 120 ohm “adapter” that came with the PC, but it didn’t have a big affect. Oh well, I tried. Anybody want to buy a slightly used Porta Corda?
Finding this site is a blessing AND a curse! I’m afraid I’ll be spending far too much on pursuing the perfect sound. In that pursuit, I think I’m going to have to contact JMT and buy one of his amps. Now see what you’ve gotten me into!
I listen to a variety of music – classic rock, alternative, punk, cool jazz, big band, classical (big symphony sound), piano, reggae. Sometimes the recording quality isn’t very good. I like a good, smooth, balanced sound. I like my bass to be deep and controlled. I’ve listened to both amps for many hours on many CDs played on the Sony D-25S. I can make this general comment – a good recording makes a huge difference, and makes the amps sound more alike. Poor recordings exaggerate the flaws in the amps.
A word about the Etys. If you don’t think the 4S’s have bass, think again. These things have the cleanest, deepest bass I have ever heard. It’s not booming, and it’s a different feeling with the Etys, but it’s very deep and clean. Etys do expose all the recording flaws (and there are many!) making some good music hard to listen too. They also expose the compression artifacts on CD WAVE files. The 4S’s are easier to drive than I expected, and I’m glad I chose them (haven’t heard the 4P’s though).
Here’s what I listened too (mostly):
Steely Dan, Aja (MCA)
UB40, UB40 (Virgin)
Sony Stitt, Stitt Plays Bird (Atlantic)
St. Louis Symphony, Tchaikovsky Serenade in C for Strings (Telarc)
The B52s, B52s (Warner Bros)
Fiona Apple, Tidal (Sony)
What my eyes saw:
The coolness factor definitely goes to the PC. It looks more like quality sound equipment with the blue aluminum faceplate, red LED, toggle switch and volume knob. The TA makes some scary pops and crackles when you switch the switches or plug in the headphones (even with the power off). The separate power switch on the TA is a nice feature (you can turn it off without changing the volume), but it’s difficult to see and the TA lacks a LED. I left mine on a couple times by mistake. The PC is a little crowded with everything on the front panel. I like the location of the input jack on the side of the TA, and the volume thumbwheel is easier to use than the knob on the PC. I found the interconnect cable on the PC is nearly useless because it’s too short, too stiff, too thick and only has a 90 degree connector on one end. The TA’s interconnect is just right (and matches the cable on my Etys!). The TA also has a convenient power connector on the side for a regulated power supply (4.5VDC, center +). I always have a stack of AA batteries lying around to power the TA, but the 9V is a little harder to come by in my house (and more expensive).
What my ears heard:
Both amps were very quiet (except for the pops mentioned above that the TA made). Both powered the Etys well at low volume settings. They sounded quite different, but neither was objectionable. I listened to both with the crossfeed on because I thought the sound was very un-natural with it turned off. Out of the box the PC lacked bass with the crossfeed on. There was a huge difference when the crossfeed was turned off (more bass, but had a distinct right/left sound). I changed the PC’s magic resistor (to a 1000 ohm) to reduce the crossfeed. That gave me more bass without negative effects.
With that fixed, there are several differences between the amps that I’ll mention in order of my perceived magnitude. First, the PC had a very controlled bass, but slightly lacking. The TA had just a tad too much bass, but more importantly, it was a little more sloppy, not as controlled. It was most noticeable on Fiona Apple’s Sleep to Dream (first cut) where there’s too much bass and the TA exaggerates this. The PC handled it much better making it less objectionable. However, if the recording is light on bass, it’s nearly non-existent with the PC while the TA makes it sound much better. I used the St. Louis Symphony CD as my gold standard, and the TA reproduced the lows very accurately. The sound was well balanced, controlled and very deep. The PC was a little thin. I had to strain a bit to hear the bass line. If the TA throttled back the bass just a tad, it would be great.
The next noticeable difference is the soundstage. To my ears the TA had a much more realistic, seamless sound. The TA sounded like musicians on a stage, all blending, but with distinct locations. The PC sounded like each musician was individually recorded in a studio and mixed later. The individual sounds didn’t blend into a seamless curtain of music, but was more of distinct points of sound with less airy space around them. Even the St. Louis Symphony sounded like it was recorded in a studio thru the PC. To me this made the PC more fatiguing to listen to, and resulted in fewer shivers running up and down my spine. I got lost in the music more with the TA and listened less to the amp. The TA apparently has a slight delay in the crossfeed circuit. Could this explain why it has a more airy sound to its soundstage???
The final noticeable difference is the highs. The PC really shines in the mids to highs. Cymbal crashes are incredible thru the PC. The TA just doesn’t reproduce them with the same life and energy. The PC, however, did seem to have a little more bite (edge) to trumpets and snare drums, where the TA was smoother and more laid back.
I really want to keep the PC. It looks so cool, and does a good job in a lot of ways. I just think the TA is a better match with the Etys. I tried running in the PC for 48 hours, and really couldn’t hear the difference. I tried the 120 ohm “adapter” that came with the PC, but it didn’t have a big affect. Oh well, I tried. Anybody want to buy a slightly used Porta Corda?
Finding this site is a blessing AND a curse! I’m afraid I’ll be spending far too much on pursuing the perfect sound. In that pursuit, I think I’m going to have to contact JMT and buy one of his amps. Now see what you’ve gotten me into!
